LEADWOOD, MO (WCMH/AP) – The wife of a Ku Klux Klan leader from Missouri who was found fatally shot over the weekend is jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder.
An official at the St. Francois County Jail told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Monday that 44-year-old Malissa Ancona is in custody. Charges have not been filed.
Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen told the Park Hills Daily Journal that the body of 51-year-old Frank Ancona of Leadwood, Missouri, was found near the Big River Saturday by a family fishing in the area. He died from a gunshot wound to the head, and police are investigating the case as a homicide.
Ancona had been missing since Wednesday. His car was found Friday evening.
“We processed the scene and the body was transported by the Washington County Coroner’s office for an autopsy to determine a cause of death,” Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen told the Daily Journal. “The body was positively identified as Frank Ancona and his family was notified.”
Ancona had been quoted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his role in the KKK. A website for the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan features a photo of him in a white hood and robe standing in front of a burning cross.
Ancona often defended the KKK saying the organization is not a hate group.
“We don’t hate people because of their race,” Ancona told NBC affiliate WWBT-TV in 2014. “We are a Christian organization. We want to keep our race the White race. We want to stay White. It’s not a hateful thing to want to maintain White Supremacy.”
Deputies say Ancona was last seen by his wife. The investigation is ongoing, and no charges have been filed.